He’s the Boss
It’s a tough assignment for a tough guy.
Never the smoothest operator, Jim Ozella has always met challenges head on. He can be gruff and he can huff and puff, but he’s determined to build something grand, not blow anything down.
Ozella, 42, knows a strong foundation when he’s handed the trust deed.
No baseball program in the region is stronger than the one Bud Murray left him at Hart High. Murray, the Indians’ mentor of 22 years and a coach of 39, retired after winning the Southern Section Division II championship last season.
As usual, Hart is brimming with talent, beginning with Jamie Shields, one of the best pitchers in the nation. In fact, the team is so talented that anything short of another championship will be met with disappointment.
Tough assignment.
Tough guy.
But this challenge will take as much diplomacy as brawniness.
After 11 seasons as Alemany coach followed by four as an assistant at College of the Canyons, Ozella landed the ultimate can’t-lose, no-win job.
“I’m an outsider coming in, I understand that,” he said. “But I don’t look at anybody else’s expectations.
“We have problems and a lot of questions need to be answered. Everybody thinks we can just reload, but we have a lot of work to do.”
Clearly, Ozella will not allow the Indians to rest on their reputations.
“It’s been a difficult scenario for the seniors, let’s not kid ourselves,” he said. “Whether I try to keep the system similar or not, I coach different than Bud does, that’s all there is to it.
“The seniors deserve to be applauded. They’ve been open to change. And I think they’ve gotten better.”
If so, another title run is on the horizon.
Shields, who has signed with Louisiana State, is one of three Indians who have college scholarships in their hip pockets. Left fielder Marke Horvat will attend UCLA and catcher Brandon Montemayor is headed for Clemson.
How is this for expectations? Ozella feels almost obligated to land scholarships for the other two returning senior starters, second baseman Ryan Haag and center fielder Matt Friedrichsen.
Haag, who bats leadoff, had 50 hits and batted .485 last season. Friedrichsen hit .398 and scored 37 runs.
Prospects are waiting their turn. Scouts already are high on sophomore shortstop Matt Moore, a 6-foot-3 left-handed hitter.
“He has a future in this game,” Ozella allows.
The pitching is strong, too. Besides Shields, who was 11-0 with 123 strikeouts in 71 innings, juniors Eric Posthumus and Phil Tognetti were effective in the fall.
Is Hart invincible? Ozella might be tempted to join the chorus except that several key players are injured.
Shields has a back strain and won’t pitch for two weeks. Friedrichsen has a broken hand that could keep him out several weeks. Junior Mike Miller, a pitcher who is expected to play first base when Shields is on the mound, will miss the the first few games because of a sprained ankle.
In addition, Chris Giordano, a sophomore who was expected to play third base, is suspended for the season for disciplinary reasons.
This is more like it for Ozella. Nothing like a bit of adversity to get the juices flowing.
His toughness is showing through.
“Nobody is feeling sorry for us,” Ozella said. “And we aren’t feeling sorry for ourselves, either.”
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Baseball Top 10
Preseason rankings of regional high schools by The Times’ sportswriters:
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RK TEAM (League) ’99 REC. 1 Hart (Foothill) 22-4 2 Thousand Oaks (Marmonte) 19-6 3 Westlake (Marmonte) 19-6 4 El Camino Real (West Valley) 20-7 5 Crespi (Mission) 22-6 6 Highland (Golden) 21-6 7 Chaminade (Mission) 19-9 8 Palmdale (Golden) 19-8 9 Sylmar (Valley Mission) 19-8 10 Camarillo (Pacific View) 20-7
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